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Ministry says heatwaves in Spain have caused 1,180 deaths over the past two months.
The Environment Ministry reported on Monday that high temperatures have caused 1180 deaths in Spain over the last two months. This is a significant increase compared to the same period in 2017. Data cited by the report showed that more than half of those who died were women and that most were older. Galicia was the most affected region, followed by La Rioja, Asturias, and Cantabria. These regions are all in the northern half, where temperatures in summer have been rising in recent years. Spain, like other Western European countries, has experienced extreme heat over the past few weeks. Temperatures often reached 40 degrees Celsius. In a statement, the Ministry of Health cited data from the Carlos III Health Institute to show that the number of people who died due to heat-related reasons between May 16th and July 13th was 1,180 compared to 70 during the same period in 2020. The first week of July saw a significant increase in deaths. The ministry stated that the data showed an "event of exceptional intensity" characterized by a rise in temperatures averages unprecedented in history and an increase in deaths attributable heatwaves. In the data period, there were 76 alerts of extreme heat compared to none a year ago. According to the Carlos III Health Institute, 2191 deaths in Spain were caused by heat last summer. The data from Spain follow a rapid scientific study published on 9 July that stated around 2,300 deaths due to heat-related causes in 12 European cities over a 10-day period leading up to 2 July. The study by Imperial College London and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine did not use the same methodology that the Spanish data.
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Gold prices remain stable after a three-week high
The gold price has stabilized following a three-week high on Monday, as attention was focused on U.S. data and trade negotiations. Silver prices have also risen to their highest level since September 2011, Gold spot was unchanged at $3,356.95 an ounce as of 937 am EDT (1337 GMT) after having reached its highest level since earlier in June. U.S. Gold Futures remained at $3,365.30. Bart Melek is the head of commodity strategy at TD Securities. He said that after a price hike, there are some profits being taken, but overall, gold remains well-bid. The European Union, South Korea and President Donald Trump are working together on trade agreements. Trump intensified his trade war Saturday by announcing he would add a 30% tariff to most imports coming from Mexico and the EU from next month. He also issued similar warnings against other countries, including Japan and South Korea. Investors are now awaiting Tuesday's U.S. Consumer Price Index and Wednesday's Producer Price Index reports for clues as to the Federal Reserve's possible policy path. Market participants currently believe that there is a high likelihood of a 50 basis-point rate cut by the end this year. Melek continued, "We have heard the U.S. president continue to make comments that he wants to see lower rates of interest and I believe that in the end he is quite supportive for gold." In a low interest rate environment, gold's appeal increases because it is not a yielding asset. Silver spot gained 1.1%, reaching its highest level since the September 2011 session. Nitesh Sha, a commodities strategist at WisdomTree, said that silver has solid fundamentals. The metal is in a deficit of supply and the demand for solar remains strong. The gold-to-silver ratio is approaching 86. Palladium and platinum also fell, with palladium down 2.6% at $1,183.75 after reaching a record high of more than eight months earlier today. (Reporting and editing by Nick Zieminski in Bengaluru, Anushree mhukerjee and Sarah Qureshi)
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Alcoa faces a loss of up to $110 Million as the restart of Spain's aluminium smelter is delayed until mid-2026
Alcoa Corp announced on Monday that it anticipates a loss of up to $110,000,000 due to the delay in the restarting of its San Ciprian Aluminium Smelter in Spain. The plant's production was halted in 2021 because of high electricity prices. The plant was in the process to be restarted, but this was delayed because Spain was hit with a nationwide blackout on the 28th of April. This disrupted the smelter as well as an adjacent refinery. The smelter is operated by Alcoa in a joint venture with Ignis Equity Holdings since March. Alcoa now expects a net loss between $90 and $110 million by 2025. This is tied to the smelter. This includes the pre-tax impact and non-controlling interests, translating into a loss between $0.35 and $0.42 per share. The associated cash used for operations is expected to be between $110 and $130 millions. The companies delayed their restart efforts until they received further assurances from Spain's government about the cause of outage and reliability of the national grid. The company website states that the San Ciprian facility includes an alumina factory with a 1.5 million tonne capacity per year. This plant supplies Alcoa, other producers and external customers from non-metallurgical industries such as ceramics and chemicals. The primary aluminium smelter adjacent has a capacity of 228,000 tons per year. Reporting by Sherin Varghese, Bengaluru. Editing by Susan Fenton
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Trump's Trade War: Major Developments
The tariffs imposed by Donald Trump since his inauguration on January 20, 2017 have sent shockwaves through financial markets, and uncertainty has spread throughout the global economy. This timeline shows the major events: Trump imposes tariffs of 25% on Mexican imports, 10% on Chinese goods and most Canadian imports from February 1. He demands that they reduce the flow fentanyl into the United States and the illegal immigration. Trump agrees to a 30-day suspension of his tariff threat against Mexico and Canada in exchange for concessions made on border security and criminal enforcement. The U.S. doesn't reach a similar deal with China. Trump delays tariffs until the Commerce Department confirms that systems and procedures are in place for processing low-cost packages from China and collecting tariff revenue. Trump increases tariffs on aluminum and steel to 25%, "without any exceptions or exclusions". March 3 - Trump announces that 25% tariffs will be imposed on imports from Mexico and Canada from March 4, and that all Chinese imports will face a 20% tariff on fentanyl. After a phone call with General Motors, Ford and Stellantis' chairperson and CEOs, he agrees to defer tariffs on certain vehicles manufactured in Canada and Mexico for a month. Trump exempts Canadian and Mexican goods under the North American Trade Pact from 25% tariffs for one month. Trump announces a 25% import tariff on cars and light trucks. April 2 - He announces global duties with a base of 10% on all imports, and significant higher duties for some of the United States biggest trading partners. Trump suspends most of the country-specific tariffs he had imposed less than 24 hours before, following a financial market upheaval that had erased trillions from stock exchanges worldwide. The blanket 10% duty on nearly all U.S. imported goods remains in place. Trump has said he'll raise the tariffs on Chinese imports from 104% to 125%. The extra duties on Chinese products, including those related to fentanyl, will now be 145%. The U.S. government grants exemptions to steep tariffs on some electronics, including smartphones and computers, imported from China. In an effort to impose tariffs in both sectors, the Trump administration launched national security investigations under Section 232 of Trade Act of 1962 on imports of pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. May 4, Trump imposes 100% tariffs on all films produced outside of the U.S. May 9 - Trump announces a limited bilateral agreement with British Prime Minister Keir starmer that keeps 10% tariffs in place on British exports and modestly increases agricultural access to both countries. It also lowers U.S. prohibitive duties on British auto exports. On May 12, the U.S. & China agreed to temporarily reduce reciprocal tariffs. The U.S. and China agree to temporarily reduce reciprocal tariffs. May 13: The U.S. reduces the "de minimis", or low-value tariff, on China's shipments. Duties for items up to $800 are reduced to 54% instead of 120%. Trump announces he will recommend a 50% tariff for goods coming from the European Union, starting June 1. He warns Apple that it will face a 25% tariff on phones sold in the U.S. if they are manufactured outside the country. May 25: Trump retracts his threat to impose tariffs of 50% on EU imports and agrees to extend the deadline until July 9 May 28: A U.S. Trade Court blocks Trump's tariffs in an sweeping ruling. The court found that Trump overstepped his powers by imposing duties across the board on imports coming from U.S. trading partners. The Trump administration has announced that it will appeal this ruling. May 29: A federal appeals Court temporarily reinstates Trump's most comprehensive tariffs. The court suspends its ruling in order to hear the government's appeal. It also orders that the plaintiffs and administration respond to the court by June 5, and by June 9, respectively. Trump signs an executive order activating the increase in tariffs for imported steel and aluminium to 50%, up from 25%. Trump warns he could soon increase auto tariffs. He argues that this would encourage automakers to accelerate U.S. investment. Trump announces a 20% tariff for many Vietnamese exports. Trans-shipments through Vietnam from other countries will be subject to a 40% tax. Trump said on Truth Social, July 6, that countries who align themselves with the "anti-American policies" BRICS would be charged an extra 10% tariff. Trump on Truth Social: The additional duties announced earlier in the year will be delayed to August 1 as the U.S. completes several trade agreements. In letters to 14 countries, including Japan, South Korea, and Serbia, he said he would introduce tariffs ranging from 25% to 40% on August 1. Trump announced on July 10 that the U.S. would impose a tariff of 35% on Canadian imports next month, and planned to impose tariffs blankets of 15% or 20 % on most other trading partner. Trump threatens a 30% tariff starting August 1 on imports coming from Mexico and Europe (Compiled in Gdansk by Paolo Laudani, Mateusz Rabiega, and Milla Nissi Prussik, Jamie Freed and Lincoln Feast; edited by Matt Scuffham and Milla Nissi Prussik)
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Becton and Waters to merge in $17.5 billion deal
Waters Corp, a lab equipment manufacturer, will merge with Becton, Dickinson and Company’s Biosciences & Diagnostic Solutions division in a $17.5-billion deal, according to the companies. The merger creates a larger company focused on high volume medical testing. The deal announced Monday is structured in a Reverse Morris Trust. This allows a company avoid a large tax bill by spinning out a unit it wants to divest, while merging it simultaneously with another company. The deal's eye-popping value is the combination of the 39.2% shareholding that BD shareholders have in the combined business and the $4 billion cash payment that BD will get at the closing. Becton’s Biosciences and Diagnostic Solutions unit produces products that are used to detect cancer and infectious diseases. The company is looking to divest this unit in order to focus more on its core medical device business. In recent years, funding for microbiology and life sciences research has been cut back, which has affected the performance of BD’s biosciences division. The sale of medical equipment remained strong post-pandemic, due to an increase in demand for outpatient surgeries and other types of surgery. Waters CEO Udit Btra stated that the merger will double Waters' market addressable to $40 billion. It will also enhance recurring revenue streams, and accelerate expansion into areas like bioseparations and bioanalytical characterisation, as well as multiplex diagnostics. Waters' stock fell 5.3% in premarket trading following the announcement. Becton stock was slightly down. Leerink analysts say investors are unlikely to view this deal as attractive near-term, given its higher exposure to microbiology and recent funding cuts. Waters will take on an additional $4 billion of debt as part of this deal. It is expected to be completed in the first quarter 2026. (Reporting and editing by Anil D’Silva, Mrigank Dahniwala, Shrey Biswas, Padmanabhan Ananthan, in Bengaluru)
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What is Patriot missile system? How does it help Ukraine?
Boris Pistorius, German Defence Minister, will discuss with Pete Hegseth, U.S. Secretary for Defence of Defence in Washington the possibility that Germany could pay for American Patriot air defense systems for Ukraine. Donald Trump, the U.S. president, said on Sunday that the U.S. will send an unspecified number of Patriots into Ukraine and the European Union will pay for them. The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy asked for additional defensive capabilities including Patriot missiles and systems to counter daily Russian missile and drone attacks. Here are some important facts about the Patriot What is the Patriot System? The Patriot is a mobile air-to-air missile defense system that was developed by Raytheon Technologies. Its full name is Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target. The system has been in use since the 1980s and is considered to be one of the most sophisticated air defence systems available in the U.S. A typical battery consists of radar and control systems as well as a power unit and launchers. The system can intercept cruise missiles or tactical ballistic missiles depending on which interceptor is used. How does the Patriot work? The capabilities of the system vary depending on which interceptor is used. The PAC-2 uses a blast fragmentation warhead which detonates near the target. However, the PAC-3 missiles use a more precise technology that directly hits the target. Although it is unclear what type of Patriot systems Ukraine has received, it is likely to have at least some of its newer PAC-3 CRI interceptors. NATO reported in 2015 that the radar system has a range exceeding 150 km (93 mi). The Patriot missile was originally not designed to intercept hypersonic weapons, and Raytheon is yet to confirm if the Patriot is capable of doing so. However, the U.S. confirmed in May 2023 that Ukraine used the Patriot to shoot down the Russian Kinzhal, which Moscow claims to be hypersonic. Raytheon's website reports that since January 2015 the Patriot has intercepted over 150 ballistic missiles during combat operations. HOW WIDELY is it used? According to its website, Raytheon has delivered more than 240 Patriot Fire Units. According to Raytheon these have been shipped into 19 countries including the U.S.A., Germany Poland, Ukraine Japan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. Axios reported in January that the U.S. transferred 90 Patriot interceptors to Ukraine from Israel. How much does it cost? According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a newly produced Patriot battery costs more than $1 billion. This includes $400 million for a system and $690 for missiles. CSIS estimates that Patriot interceptors cost around $4 million each. Why does Ukraine want more patriots? Kyiv continues to ask its Western allies for additional air defence systems in order to protect civilian infrastructure from Russian drone and missile attacks. Patriots can be an expensive way to take out low-budget drones, even though they are effective in intercepting missiles and planes. Officials in Ukraine say that they are still essential for defending critical targets against Russia's increasing long-range attacks. Russia claims that it views the Patriots as an escalation. Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry, said in May that providing more systems to Ukraine could delay peace. (Reporting and editing by Isabel Demetz, Jesus Calero)
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Google-backed consortium to scale up ocean and rock carbon removal
An executive revealed that a coalition of Google, Stripe, and Shopify would spend $1.7m to purchase carbon removal credits for three early-stage firms. This will help the tech giants scale up the nascent market. To meet climate goals by the mid-century, the world will need to remove between 5 and 10 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide per year from the atmosphere. However, most of the technologies available today are of a small scale. Frontier is a coalition that includes Meta, H&M Group JPMorgan Chase, Salesforce and others. The group will spend $1.7million to purchase credits from Karbonetiq in the U.S., Limenet, a company based in Italy, and pHathom, a Canadian firm. Hannah Bebbington is the head of Frontier's deployment. She said that by contracting early to purchase, the companies are better equipped to hire, raise funds and get technologies up and running. She said, "It allows businesses to demonstrate their commercial viability." Frontier's fifth commitment is to support these early-stage firms that aim to store emissions in the ocean, rocks, and industrial waste. Frontier, which began operations in 2022, plans to invest $1 billion between 2022- 2030 in carbon credits. It has already committed to $600 million. Some of that was spent on pre-purchases, and most of it on off-take agreements. It agreed last week to pay $41million for 116,000 tonnes of waste biomass from Arbor. In oceans, it is important to increase the alkalinity to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions. This is done by adding "quicklime", which is made of limestone. Mineralisation technologies are a way to accelerate the natural process of rocks and industrial waste absorbing carbon dioxide. For example, by crushing the material, you can create a greater surface area. Bebbington stated that both technologies have the potential to make a difference because they can be scaled up quickly and inexpensively. "We find them to be very compelling, from a cheap and large-scale perspective." (Reporting and editing by Susan Fenton; Simon Jessop).
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South African auto exports to the U.S. plummet as Trump tariffs bite
The South African auto exports to the United States fell sharply in 2025's first quarter, and dropped more than 80% between April and May, after tariffs imposed on imports by U.S. president Donald Trump affected automakers sales, said industry association naamsa. South Africa's largest trading partner and the main destination for South African vehicles, the United States has long enjoyed duty-free access through the U.S. African Growth and Opportunity Act. naamsa reported that auto exports to the U.S. fell 73% during the first quarter compared with the same period in 2013. This was followed by drops of 80% in March, 85% in April, and 73% in May. The industry group said that the steep decline in exports would be hard to recover from within the next few months. Mikel Mabasa, CEO of naamsa, said: "This isn't just a business issue. It's a social-economic crisis that is brewing." Trump escalated his global trade offensive launched in April this month, announcing new tariffs for more than a dozen nations including South Africa. The country will be charged a 30% tariff starting August 1. The 25% tariff on cars imposed in April has been extended to auto parts since May. South Africa proposed a trade package before Trump's announcement of tariffs in July. It included a duty free quota for South Africa to export 40,000 vehicles annually and duty-free access from local automotive components for U.S. manufacturing. According to naamsa, in 2024 the automotive sector of South Africa will account for 64% all AGOA trade between the U.S. and South Africa, generating export revenues worth 28.6 billion Rand ($1.60 billion). Mabasa stated that the tariffs could threaten thousands of jobs, and economic ruin in communities who rely on this sector. For example, East London is a coastal town where the auto industry plays a central role to its economy. Mabasa warned that if we don't retain export markets such as the U.S. we could turn vibrant industrial hubs like Detroit into ghost towns. This would have ripple effects throughout the entire automotive supply chain from component manufacturers to logistic providers. Mabasa said that diversifying exports is important, but it cannot be done overnight. He noted that international competitors are already re-directing their exports to markets traditionally served South Africa. Mabasa stated that the mounting pressure on automakers in South Africa exporting to U.S. will force them to absorb rising costs and scale back production as well as reconsider future investments.
India and China agree that it is vital to normalise relations between them by avoiding trade restrictions.
India and China need to resolve the friction along their border and pull back troops, as well as avoid "restrictive measures" in order to normalise relations, India's Foreign Minister told his Chinese counterpart on Monday.
Subrahmanyam Jishankar, India's Subrahmanyam met Wang Yi during his first visit to China since 2020. A deadly border clash led to a 4-year standoff between their soldiers and damaged relations until then.
The thaw started in October
When they agreed to step aside.
Jaishankar said that the "good progress" in normalising relations between the two countries over the last nine months is due to the resolution of friction on their border.
India and China share 3,800 km (2400 miles) of border, which is poorly delineated and has been disputed ever since the 1950s. In 1962, they fought a brutal but short border war. Talks to resolve the dispute have been slow over the years.
Last month, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said to his Chinese counterpart the two countries should work together.
"permanent solution"
New Delhi is pushing for a final resolution to the border dispute.
Jaishankar added that it is important to avoid restrictive trade measures, roadblocks, and other barriers to mutually beneficial collaboration.
The Minister was speaking against a backdrop of
Beijing's restrictions
In recent months, there has been a shortage of rare earth magnets as well as machinery used to manufacture high-tech products.
India has the fifth largest rare earth reserves in the world, but its domestic production is still underdeveloped.
The Chinese media did not immediately report the discussions between Jaishankar Wang.
The official Chinese news agency Xinhua reports that Jaishankar met Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng in the morning. He was in China for the meeting of the foreign ministers from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
Han, a Chinese official, told Jaishankar that India and China must continue to advance their practical cooperation, and should respect each other's interests, Xinhua reported.
(source: Reuters)